Loving Freckles
by NatStillLives
Summary: JeanMarco HighSchoolAU. Jean meets Marco whilst cleaning the boys' locker room. This story follows their awkward, but beautiful, high school romance. (Full summary inside.)
1. Summary

Jean, a junior in highschool, is just another ordinary guy. He goes to classes, gets pretty decent grades, and gets into the occasional fight.

After one of these "occasional" fights Jean is sent to Principal Levi's office. Being the great guy he is, Levi assigns Jean to clean the boy's locker room. Jean begrudgingly grabs supplies and begins to clean. There that ordinary boy met his perfect match, Marco.

Marco is also a junior in high school, but surprisingly, he and Jean have only crossed paths once or twice before meeting in the boy's locker rooms. Marco is a complete sweetheart who helps anyone in need. He along with his friends take Jean in and give him the friendship and love he needs.


	2. Chapter 1

**_Hey again! Oli and I are back with yet ANOTHER fanfic! In case you guys can't tell I need a coauthor to motivate me (which is why I don't write alone very often). We decided on JeanMarco as our ship and we finally found a name for it! Please read, comment and enjoy. Also I will add a little tag at the bottom of each chapter so you guys know who's writing which chapter._**

Jean's POV

Now that I look back on it, I'm not sure why I even bothered to pick a fight. I could've just blown it off and been on my way. To this day I don't know what they were talking about that made me so angry in the first place. All I know for sure is that if I would've done one thing differently; like stop at my locker for a little bit longer or stay after class, I wouldn't be who I am today. I would have never met my best friend, who turned out to be the one and only love of my life. The one who I owe my very life to.

The final bell had just rang, signaling the end of yet another Friday. I walked out of my eight-period English class and groaned upon seeing the crowded hallway. They were always this full at the end of the day, I just hated making my way through them. I fought against the mass, pushing my way to the back doors of the school. Once free of the mob of students, I stretched my arms upwards and let out a sigh of relief. I was tired, stressed, and well beyond ready to head home. It had been a particularly long day at school and I wasn't sure if I could've handled putting up with anymore people. But of course, with my luck, I didn't exactly get what I wanted.

As I was walking to my car to drive back home, I noticed a group of boys who couln't have been older than freshman. I walked past them, and as I did, I noticed that one of them was mumbling something to the others. My self-consciousness kicked in and I began to worry. I shook my head, trying to convince myself that it wasn't about me as I sped up my pace. Everything went South when I heard "Kirstein" being muttered. I wanted to hear more of what they were saying about me, but by then, all there was to hear was laughter. Mocking, hysterical laughter. I grit my teeth and narrowed my eyes, slowly turning around to face them. They had messed with me on the wrong day.

Once they met my glare, their joyful expressions switched to terrified. Two of them broke out in a run, while the third was frozen in his spot. Shaking my head and muttering a swear under my breath, I stormed up to the kid. I towered above him and watched him tremble for a bit before I took action. I picked him up by his shirt collar, slamming his back against the brick outer wall of the school. "You," I growled, tightening my grip on his shirt as he tried to squirm out of my grasp, "you and your little friends were trash talking me, weren't you?"

"J-Jean," the kid chocked out. He reached up, his hands clawing at mine and trying to break free. Scoffing, I released my grip, dropping the kid to the ground. He fell to his hands and knees, gasping for breath. I hadn't realized I was holding on so tight. He looked back up at me, wide-eyed and his bottom lip quivering. "It isn't," he paused for breath, "what you think it is."

"Oh, yeah?" I asked bitterly. Without even giving him a chance to respond, my leg swung forward, the bottom of my shoe hitting him square in the face. He yelped and keeled over, both of his hands flying up to cover his bleeding lip. He staggered, trying to get back on his feet. I readied my fists, preparing to punch. "Then what was it? Tell me!"

"Hey, cut it out!" Before I was even aware of what was going on, my assault on the nameless kid came to an abrupt halt. In front of the kid I was previously beating up stood a new person. I knew that he was in my class, but I couldn't put a name on him. His short black hair was combed neatly into place and freckles dotted over his rosy cheeks and exposed arms. His brown eyes stared deep into mine, begging and pleading for me to stop. My eyes went wide and I lowered my fists. The dark-haired freckle face didn't move from his stance, but turned his head to the side, watching something intently. Curious, I looked over, and when I did, I froze with fear.

Coming our way was a very concerned looking Ms. Hanji, our biology teacher. Accompanying her was none other than our school's very own Principal Levi. I gulped upon setting eyes on the five-foot-three clean-freak, cravat-bearing man we call a principal. Once his gaze met mine, his eyes went dark and I immediately knew that I was in deep trouble. When they had reached up, Principal Levi examined the scene, glancing over it a few times before giving his final verdict. He sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly. "Ms. Hanji," he addressed.

"Yes, sir?" she piped up, her eyes shooting up from the injured student to Principal Levi.

"Make yourself useful for onceand help this poor young man to the nurse's office, would you?" he requested, giving a small nodding gesture to the boy I had beaten up. Freckle Face was helping him stand, holding him upright from underneath his arms. I seethed and pursed my lip, feeling somewhat guilty.

"I'll help, too," Freckle Face added as Ms. Hanji stood next to him, helping hold the beaten and bruised student.

Principal Levi nodded solemnly, his expression unchanging. "Thank you," he told Freckle Face, nodding a few more times before turning to face me, "and as for you, Mr. Kirstein," he grabbed me by the back of my shirt collar, dragging me along with him, "my office. Now."

As Principal Levi pulled me behind him on our way to his office where I was guaranteed that I'd recieve punishment, I kept my head twisted over my shoulder, watching behind me. Ms. Hanji was on one side of the injured student while Freckle Face was on the other, the two of them helping him hobble along. I furrowed my brows together, puzzled. I wondered how on earth it was even possible for someone to be as selfless and courageous as Freckle Face to offer themself up to protect another person. We moved farther and farther away from them, and soon we had entered the building and they had exited my sight.

From there, it wasn't a very long trip to Principal Levi's office. He threw open a door, a door that I knew far too well as the one and only door to his office. Releasing his grip on my collar, Principal Levi tossed me forwards, causing me to stumble into the room. Without a word, he slowly entered the room behind me, the only audible sounds were the clcks of his shoes against the floor. He sat down in the chair behind his desk, leaning back into it and relaxing. He adjusted his cravat and then placed his hands in his lap. He titled his head up, staring at me expectantly. "Well? What are you waiting for, an invitation?" he asked, nodding at the chairs in front of his desk, "sit down, stay a little while."

I gulped as nervous sweat began to bead up on my forehead. I attempted to convince myself not to be scared, but my efforts had failed. Slowly, I pulled out one of the chairs Principal Levi pointed out. One of the legs squeaked, making an ugly sound against the silence and causing me to flinch. Principal Levi scoffed and shook his head, and I got the message to move on with it. I sat down immediately, tapping my fingers anxiously on the arms of the seat. Across from me, Principal Levi sat in his rightful chair with his eyes closed, deep in thought. I wasn't going to be the one to break his concentration, and definitely not the first to speak up.

Whiole he was thinking, I tried my best to avoid staring at him. Instead, I decided to look around his office. On the wall behind him, he had his high school and college diplomas on display, along wih several pictures of past graduated classes. Tucked away in the corner was an old locker that was being used as more of a supply closet. The door was cracked open and inside I saw various cleaning products. Of course, Principal Levi was aware that our school was equipped with a janitor's closet, but a clean-freak like him was bound to have his own personal supply.

"Now, Jean," Principal Levi spoke up, causing my eyes to dart over to him. He had stood from his seat and was now pacing around the room. "This is your third fight this month," he acknowledged, although I was already aware. He walked past and around me, his hand tracing along the back of my chair. He moved behind his desk, straightening out a framed photograph I hadn't noticed before. The picture showed only two people, Principal Levi and a strawberry-blonde haired woman I didn't recognize. They both looked so happy together, I wondered if she was his wife. "Our school doesn't tolerate that kind of behavior," Principal Levi stated, interrupting my train of thought.

I felt an embarassed blush creep up on my face as I tilted my head downward, facing my lap. "Yes, sir. I know, sir."

Principal Levi sighed as he sat back down in his seat. He rested his elbows on his desk and his chin on top of his folded hands. "Behavior like that can lead to expulsion, Jean," he paused, cocking his head to the side, "the thing is, I don't want to expel you. See, you're one of the top students at our school and it'd be quite the shame to loose you," he sighed again, subtly shaking his head, "I expect more out of you, Jean."

"I know, sir. I-I'll try to do better," I stuttered with a nod.

"No," Principal Levi corrected, "you will do better. Now, as punishment, I want you to clean the boy's locker room," he sauntered over to his cleaning supply locker and pulled out several items, half of which I didn't even know what their purpose was, "I want it cleaned top to bottom and in every nook and cranny. I want it absolutely spotless. Now, you better be on your way. I don't want you here all night."

I scooped the supplies up in my arms, trying to position them in a way that none of them would spill over or fall while I was carrying them. I nodded at Principal Levi, slowly taking steps back to the door."Okay, sir. Thank you, sir," without another word, I turned around and came face to face with the exit. I fiddled with the handle for a little bit before it finally came loose, and I thankfuly managed not to drop anything. I gave a sigh of relief as I left his office. At least it wasn't plan old detention.

I walked down the now deserted hallways, shifting my arms every so often so I wouldn't drop anything. I stumbled down the stairs to the boy's locker room, throwing the door open. Like the rest of the school, it was completely empty. Sighing, I sat the supplies Principeal Levi had given me down on a nearby bench. I decided that I'd start with mirrors first. I grabbed the specific supplies that I'd need for the strenuous task of cleaning the grimy mirrors. As I walked up before them, I seethed, just thinking of how much Principal Levi would freak out at this sight. I squirted each mirror with the cleaner and wiped it down with a wet paper towel, repeating the exact same process every single time. But when I reached the last one, I noticed that I wasn't the only one displayed in the reflection.

Standing behind me was none other than Freckle Face himself.

-Oli


	3. Chapter 2

_**It's early, but hey, it's here. The new chapter! Oli and I worked our butts off and managed to get this one out t you all early! Please comment (it normally makes us move faster. Especially me; because I forget if I'm not reminded constantly). **_

**Marco's Point of View**

"Give it back, Ymir!" Christa hopped up and down as she unsuccessfully tried to reach her Twix bar. The Twix bar was unfortunately in the grip of Ymir, who was holding it high out of Christa's reach. I glanced down at the blonde girl, who I worried would never make it taller than five feet.

"What do you say, Christa?" Ymir asked slyly, leaning in to leer at her shorter friend, who only pouted in response. She smirked as Christa ignored her and jumped for the candy.

"Give it back!" Christa whined. She stopped jumping and moved her hair out of her face long enough to give Ymir the infamous puppy eyes. Christa was adorable even without the puppy dog eyes, everybody could admit that. But when she gave people that look, she could get anything she ever wanted, which scared me somethings.

"Just give her the chocolate," I said, sighing at Ymir's childish attempt at flirting. It couldn't have been any more obvious that the tall, freckled brunette had a crush on Christa. Ymir rolled her eyes and handed the candy back to the little blonde. Christa looked delighted as she ripped open the wrapper and devoured the Twix.

"You totally ruined the mood," Ymir complained, scowling at me. "She looked so cute! She even broke out the puppy eyes! Isn't she just the cutest thing ever?!" Ymir jumped at Christa and pinched her cheeks. Christa in return blushed and giggled before finishing of her Twix.

Eren saw fit to join our little group at that moment. He had been leaning on the wall by the water fountain, just outside the boys' bathroom, waiting for Armin to walk out of the restroom. I looked casually behind Eren to see the blonde boy, Armin, following his clingy friend.

"Finally join the living, eh Jaeger?" Ymir smirked as she towered over Eren.

"At least you're implying that he is the living amongst the dead in that context!" Armin yelped, a little grin crossing his lips. He attempted a comeback in the defense of Eren, but I don't think any of us actually got what he was trying to get across. I don't even think he knew what he meant.

Sighing, I just shook my head and walked towards my locker. Not to my advantage, my locker was on the other side of the school. On my way to my locker, I passed a large array of glass doors. The school should seriously consider turning those glass doors into normal doors. What if there's a tornado?! Someone could get seriously injured by the flying glass shards! Didn't the executive board think about the danger hazards that came along with glass doors?

I stopped my long journey to pull a pen and some scrap paper out of my backpack. Popping the pen cap off with a flick of my thumb, I began to write my suggestion note that the school replace those doors.

_Dear Principal Levi,_

_As a concerned student, I would like to suggest that the glass doors on the South side of the building (the ones next to the student parking lot) be replaced with more weather capable doors. In the case of a tornado or another natural disaster it could potentially in-_

"Then what was it?! Tell me!"

I jumped when I heard the yell, my pen flying across the paper and making a big gash through my message. Dropping my pen and paper, I ran towards the voice, which had come from outside. I hastily pushed the glass doors open and ran outside. Looking around, I saw a boy hitting a younger class man. I didn't know either of them; I couldn't let it go on, either!

"Hey, cut it out!" I yelled at the stubborn boy who was doing the injuring. He was tall, but not as tall as I am. He had an interesting hairstyle going on too, a tawny-blonde on top with a dark brown undercut.

The boy stopped his fist and looked at me. He just stared. Stared at me with his light brown eyes. The boy had an odd look on his face with his dark brows pushed down in a glare. It was something between the looks of _who the heck is this guy?_ and _oh snap_.

We both kind of stood there, stuck in some kind of daze where we both stared at each other. Our little staring session was cut short by our biology teacher, Ms. Hanji, and the one and only Principal Levi. I thought the boy was a little short; but Principal Levi was the definition of a _little_short.

"Ms. Hanji," the short principal said, capturing the attention of the ditzy teacher. She got so lost in her thoughts sometimes, I wondered how she kept her job.

"Yes, sir?" she acknowledged.

"Make yourself useful for once and help this poor young man to the nurse's office, would you?" Levi ordered. His words turned my attention back to the kid who had gotten beat up. He was looking pretty bad, so I went over and helped him get up.

"I'll help too," I offered. Ms. Hanji just shrugged and we both struggled to get the kid up and to the nurse's office. It wasn't that long of a walk, since the nurse's office was close to the parking lot. I guess the school board figured that if there was a car accident they'd rather save the ambulance some money and patch the kids up here. Either that, or they knew that there could be an accident with those glass doors.

We drug the kid into the empty nurse's office and I turned on the lights. Ms. Hanji helped the kid, who was moaning in pain, up onto the bed reserved for kids who passed out. I stared dumbly at the bleeding guy for a second. What did he do to deserve that beating?

"Marco," Ms. Hanji grabbed my attention. "I asked you, like, three times. Could you go grab a basin of water and wash cloth while I get the disinfectant?"

"Oh. Sorry. Of course I will," I stumbled awkwardly through my sentences. Fumbling through the cupboards I found a large metal basin and a stack of cloths. Handing the wash cloth to Ms. Hanji, I ran to the sink and turned on the tap. Every few seconds I put my finger under the flowing water to check and see if it was hot enough yet. After a minute, the water was decently hot, so I filled the basin.

Carrying it back to the teacher, I stumbled and almost dumped the water on the injured student. Ms. Hanji took the basin away from me as she attempted to calm the student, who was now swearing loudly and on the brink of tears. "Why don't you head home? I have this all covered." Ms. Hanji suggested as she waved me to the door.

"Well, I guess," I said shrugging. "If you have this, then I'm not needed." She waved goodbye as I walked out of the door.

I began to walk back to my lockers; past the glass doors. Then my mind began to drift back to the boy who had been punching the kid. He was really hot, like, really hot. I blushed as I realized what I had just thought. "He wasn't that cute!" I yelled in aggravation.

Bonk!

"Ow!" I yelped as I ran into the glass door. "This stinking door!" I yelled out a few choice words as I held my aching head. I can't believe that I got that sidetracked that I ran into a door! A door!

Massaging my head I corrected my path and began walking straight. I walked straight past the doors and to my locker. Once there I gathered up all of my text book and threw them into my backpack. I tossed my backpack on my back and slammed my locker door shut as I realized that I forgot my gym bag.

Sighing in annoyance, I hurried to the locker rooms. I made sure of which locker room it was before entering. Walking into the boys' locker room, I saw the person I least expected, that boy. His back was facing me, but he noticed my reflection in the mirror in front of him and whipped back.

"What are you here for?" he almost growled. I tried my best not to whimper at his words; failing to do so I flinched back and whimpered quietly. He must have felt sorry because his expression softened. "Sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to snap. I've just had a long day."

I managed to regain my composure. Putting on the most confident demeanor I could, I stood up tall and straight. "You've had a long day? What about that kid who's nose you bloodied?"

The boy snorted and picked up a bucket of cleaning supplies by his feet. He moved on to a mirror near the one he saw me in and began to clean it while talking. "First of all, I had enough reason. Second of all, you didn't answer my first question so why should I answer yours?"

"Touche," I agreed. "I'm just here for my gym bag."

"Well, he was trash talking me," the boy said in regards to the bloodied nose. "So freckles, you gonna stand here all day or get that gym bag?"

"You're quite the cocky one, aren't you?" I asked as I stalked forward. Grabbing a roll of paper towels and Windex from the bucket of supplies, I began to clean along side of him.

"You don't have to help me," the boy insisted. He may seem rude but I just know he's a sweet-heart deep down. Everybody had a soft side, at least to a certain extent, and I was bound to uncover his. So I ignored his comment and kept cleaning. "Fine," he muttered, "but if you wanna clean, you have to tell me your name. Spill, freckles."

"I'm Marco!" I chirped as I squirted cleaner on the mirror. "Who are you?"

"The name's Jean," the boy said. He gave me the 'sup nod and I rolled my eyes. We awkwardly cleaned in silence for about half an hour before I decided that it was too quiet and that I needed to start up a conversation.

"So," I began, "you like to clean?"

"Not at all," Jean replied. "But I have to clean tables at my job, so I guess I have to like it."

I was really surprised that Jean had a job. At first glance, he looks like a regular irresponsible teenage boy, like Eren. The only thing Eren is responsible for is Armin, and that's because Armin's completely defenseless and gets lost fairly often when he goes anywhere by himself. "What's your job?" I asked out of curiosity.

"I'm a waiter at a local restaurant. The Black-Eyed Pea," Jean answered.

"You don't look like the type to have a steady job," I pondered aloud.

"Well, I kind of have to when I live alone in my own apartment," Jean said. He laughed lightly at my shocked look. "Don't worry," Jean chuckled, "I make enough to pay my bills." I blushed as I realized how rude I must have seemed. Jean probably hates me right now. Either that, or he thinks I'm some spoiled brat. I began to sweat bullets thinking about what Jean thought about me. "You okay over there freckles?"

I looked at Jean and forced a smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just got lost in my thoughts."

Jean shrugged. "Why don't you head home?" he asked. "I only have to put away the cleaning supplies, then I'm done."

"Okay," I said as I put my supplies back into the bucket. I gathered up my stuff and stopped before exiting the locker room. "You have a phone?" I asked Jean.

"Sure," he nodded, "but why?"

"To exchange numbers," I said simply. "You might get into trouble like this again and need my help." Jean made a bit of a confused expression before pulling out his cell and tossing it to me. I nearly dropped his phone, barely catching it between my hands. I tossed him mine and we both programmed our numbers in the others phone. I smirked as I saved my number under the name Freckles. We exchanged phones again and I saw that Jean had saved his number under the name of Pants.

"Freckles?" he questioned with a smirk.

"Pants?" I asked in response, raising an eyebrow.

We both laughed at the other before I began to walk out the door. "Hey, freckles! Don't wait for me to call first. You can call me too. Just make sure you don't do it during my shift at the restaurant, might not go over too well with the boss."

"You got it, pants," I said, laughing. We both laughed together before I made my exit. When I first saw Jean, I thought that he'd be a complete jerk. Now, I was ready to accept him as a new friend.

-Nat


	4. Chapter 3

_**Heeeyyy! So I'm back, and I'm kinda sad. Turns out the people in charge of Mock Trial schedules messed up and put my JV team against a V team when they weren't supposed to...and of course since that team had just played our V team the same day, they already knew what we were planning to do...so we lost. And then we were informed that that was our last meet. **__**But anyways, enough about my life, lets take a leap into the world of JeanMarco.**_

**Jean's Point of View**

"Hey, Jean," one of my co-workers piped up. I glanced over at him, retracing my steps back to him so that he wouldn't have to yell across the already loud room. I was always bad at remembering the names of my co-workers, but I believe his was Thomas, or something along the lines of that. Once by him, I shifted my arms, making sure that I wouldn't drop the pile of dirty dishes I was carrying back to the kitchen. Thomas pointed over to a table on the opposite side of the room, wagging his finger a bit. "Mina wants you to handle that table, think you can go grab their orders when you're done putting those up?" he asked,

"Yeah, sure," I answered with a nod. I brushed past Thomas, maneuvering my way through the maze of scattered tables and chairs, some of which were occupied by people, some not. Saturdays were typically busy days for us, but not in the middle of the afternoon. My foot caught on the leg of a chair, almost bringing me down to the ground. I stumbled a bit before regaining my balance, only to hear a little crash by my feet. I swore under my breath, glancing worriedly at the broken glass on the floor. I looked up and caught Thomas' attention. I pointed down to the spill, mouthing 'clean-up'.

Thomas darted back over to the broken glass, cleaning it up as I returned to the kitchen. I piled up the dirty dishes in the sink, making sure that everything was balanced just right so it wouldn't topple over. I didn't need to break anything else. I swooped out of the kitchen doors, carrying an armful of menus with me as I approached the table Thomas had dirrected me to serve. But as I walked closer, I thought I caught a glimpse of a freckled smile.

I felt my eyes go wide, and my heart flutter. Ever since the incident with Marco, or as he deemed himself, Freckles, he was all that was on my mind. I began seeing that overly friendly freckled dork everywhere, even in complete strangers. God, he was cute. I took a deep breath, trying to re-assure myself that it probably wasn't Marco, just another guy with a totally adorable smile, perfectly aligned freckles, and beautiful brown eyes that could make anybody fall for him.

The entire walk over to the table, I kept trying to convice myself that it wasn't really Marco. I took a deep breath, handing the menus out to the seven at the table. "Hi, welcome to Black-Eyed Pea. My name is Jean, and I'll be your waiter this afternoon. Now, can I get you folks anything to start off with, some drinks, appetize-"

"Jean?" I was quickly cutt off, my heart shooting up to my throat, making it impossible for my to speak. My eyes were glued to the notepad I had in hand, focusing on a line about halfway throuhg the page. I glanced up slowly, my eyes meeting with the dark-haired boy who looked up at me. I gulped as Marco grinned at me. I managed to wave at him, keeping my mouth shut to avoid saying anything stupid in front of him. "Wow, Jean! I almost forgot you worked here for a little while," he laughed, running his hand through his hair. _So cute_. "How are you?"

"I-I'm good," I squeaked out, my voice sounding like I was going through puberty a second time. My heart was beating rapidly as some choice words ran through my mind. How could Marco be here at a time like this?! And I thought that I was on the road to forgetting him. He was a temporary crush, I couldn't let his develop any further. _Jean, no, _I told myself, _you like girls. Jean Kirstein, lady's man._ Somehow, that title didn't seem to fit anymore. "How are you?"

"I'm doing pretty well," he said with a nod, the freckles on his cheeks bouncing as he smiled. His mouth parted a bit to intake a quick breath before he looked around at his other friends at the table. "Jean, have I introduced you to my friends yet, I don't think I have," he pondered out loud, to which I shook my head no. "Well, this is Connie, Sasha, Armin, Mikasa, and Eren," he stated out loud. I recognized them all, by their faces but not by their names. I knew Mikasa and Eren, however. I used to have the worst crush on Mikasa throughout middle school, and Eren was her overly cocky adoptive brother. Somehow, Mikasa didn't seem that pretty anymore when she sat by Marco._ Jean, don't be a jerk. She's still pretty... but Marco's prettier. What? No! _"Guys, this is Jean!"

"Hi, everyone," I said, managing a small wave as the little group muttered back some 'hey's and 'hello's. Eren simply glared at me, which I glared back at him. We'd had some conflicts in the past before, but the most prominent was when we were both trying out for the male lead in the middle school play, just because Mikasa was the lead female. I can't even recall all of the ways we attempted to sabotage each other. I turned away for Eren, trying to force a smile for the others. "So, what can I get you all to start with?"

Throughut the rest of my shift, whether I was serving Marco and his friends or not, I couldn't help but watch them. It seemed like Connie was the butt of every joke, Sasha had a bottomless pit of a stomach, and Marco never stopped smiling. I'm not complaining, his smile was adorable. It jsut distracted me from my work, and that was what annoyed me so much. After I bumped into my third table, thus breaking my fifth glass, Thomas came over and told me to take the rest of the night off. Of course, that was just when Marco and his friends pitched their money together and paid their bill.

I walked out of the restaurant, only to catch Marco on the corner of the sidewalk. My eyes went wide and my throat closed up. _Do I say anything, do I say something? What do I say? How do I do this? What's making me so nervous around Marco? Why does Eren's face look so stupid when he laughs? God, Eren, you're such a moron. Why does Marco's face look so adorable? What do I do?!_ Before I could even think clearly, the taller boy's name flew out of my mouth. "Marco, wait!" I shouted after the boy. I chased after him as he stepped off of the sidewalk and onto the street. I reached out for him, but ended up grabbing his hand instead. _Smooth, Jean_.

"Yeah?" Marco asked. I swear, I saw the faintest hint of blush in his cheeks as he turned to me. His eyes looked optimistic as he turned to me, but then again, when didn't they? Maybe it was jsut overly optimistic, really hopeful. Like he was waiting for this to happen. "What is it, Jean?" he rephrased, removing his hand from mine. Immediately, I rubbed my sweaty palm on my pants. Gross. Who knew I could get so worked up over something so simple.

"I was jsut wonder if you'd maybe like to... Oh, I don't know, hang out this evening? I mean, like, if you don't want to, that's fine, I mean, it's just an idea and you don't have to accept it, but it'd be really-" I continued to ramble on and on, hoping to find an explanation as to why I'd wanna hang out with Marco. Why I thought I'd find one if I kept talking, I don't know. All I knew for sure was that I was cut off just moment's later by Marco's laughter. _Crap, his laugh is cute, too._

"Jean, I'd love to hang out!" He exclaimed, beaming. I let out a sigh of relief, glad he accepted. He chuckled, staring down at his feet for a couple seconds."I mean, of course we can, we can hang out," he stuttered, stumbling over his own words. "I've just gotta text my mom about it real quick so she knows where I am, she gets really fidgety if she doesn't know if I'm okay or not," he said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket. "So do you want me to ride with you, or just follow you in my car?"

"Just follow me," I answered, "I'd hate to have to drive you all the way back here to get your car, my house is on the other side of town," I mentioned, shrugging. Marco nodded, turning around to find is car. I spun on my heel and headed over to my own car, a new-to-me suburban my parents got for me before I left. I hopped inside, and as soon as I did, I bonked my head on top of the steering wheel, just barely missing the horn. I shook my head, rubbing my forehead against it. Dear god, what was I getting myself into?

Once I backed out of the parking lot, I heard a small ding come form my phone, notifying me that I received a text. I knew it wasn't safe to be on my phone while driving, but I wasn't in traffic and right in from of a stop sign, so I let it pass. I clicked the home button, seeing that I had a message from Freckles, or Marco. _Right behnd you!_ it said, followed by a few smiling emojis. The little dork. I swiped across the screen and my thumbs tapped in my password, quickly typing a reply to Marco. _Gotcha, _the device clicked with each letter, _follow meeee._

On the drive back to my house, i kept trying to convince myself that I was going to be fine and that there was nothing to freak out over. We were just two dudes, going over to hang out at my apartment together. Nothing more than that. And, we'd be alone, just me and him. Nothing to keep me from being with him. I muttered a swear under my breath as I glanced up to my rear-view mirror, and Marco waved to me from the car behind me. I glided into the parking lot, shaking my head as I accepted that this was not going to be as simple as I suspected it to be.

I leapt out of the driver's seat as Marco's shiny new truck parked next to my suburban, the dark haired boy following my actions a few seconds later. He reached into his pocket and locked his car, turning to face me with a smile that made my heart jump into my throat. _No homo, _I told nodded to me as I whipped my head around, motioning for him to follow me. As soon as I heard the clicks of footsteps behind me, I entered the apartment building. The manager behind the desk was already busy on the phone, so she just nodded to me as she spoke a reply into the object. I darted up the flight of stairs, since I only lived on the second floor, Marco right behind me. I fiddled with my keys, unlocking the door and letting the two of us inside. I sighed once I unlocked the door, tossing the keys onto the the end table and flopping down onto the couch beside it. I threw my arms out, making jazz hands as Marco entered behind me. "Welcome to Jean casa!"

"It's casa de Jean," Marco corrected, wagging a judgmental finger at me. I waved it off, scoffing as he sitting down on the couch next to me. Even when we were just relaxing, it was obvious that we were different. I was sprawled all across the piece of furniture, almost pushing Marco onto the floor. The freckled boy sat up straight, his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. Poise, proper, I thought. Was that why I always felt so drawn to him, because he was such a different person? I didn't know. I was a bit lost in my thoughts when I heard Marco shout out a moment later. "Whoa, you've got Titan Brawl IV?!"

I jolted back to reality when Marco's voice settled in my mind. I relaxed a second later, relieving myself of some tension. I chuckled, leaning over as Marco reached forward, grabbing the case for the video game. He gawked at it, his jaw hanging open. I smiling to myself as I leaned into him, staring at the image he was. It bore the game's main character, the Rogue Titan, glaring at the viewer. I didn't really understand the whole plot of the game, I just found it rather amusing how the Rogue Titan wanted to obliterate all other Titans, even though he was one. "Yeah, do you play?" I asked.

"I've only ever played the first and second, and Eren loaned me those," I was a bit disappointed to hear that jerk's name pass Marco's lips, but I let it slide, "do you think I could give it a test run?"

"Go right ahead," I answered with a nod, watching Marco as he leapt off of the couch, scrambling to the console plugged into the TV. He snatched up one of the controllers and offered the other one to me, which I turned down. I kind of wanted to watch him play by himself, see how he does on his own. He seemed so excited about playing this game, it was almost like watching a five-year-old demolish the wrapping paper as they try to open their presents. He looked so cute, fumbling with the buttons and trying to find out the new controls. The way he laughed when he messed up, grinned and did a little happy dance in his seat when he was victorious, it was all just too perfect. Marco was too perfect. I couldn't resist myself anymore; when he was too absorbed in the game to notice me anymore, I kissed his cheek.

-Oli


	5. Chapter 4

_**So I finally got time to type. I've been at musical practice nonstop for the past month. We are about one and a half weeks from the performance. Well, enough about my troubles, back to Loving Freckles. **_

I blushed like mad as I dropped the controller. My cheek went bright red before I even know what was happening. I sat there with my heart pounding, completely speechless. Did Jean just kiss me? Throwing my hands up to try and cover my red cheeks, I tried to hide, but it didn't work. It must have taken every last ounce of Jean's self restraint to keep form laughing at my blush. How embarrassing, and for the both of us.

"What was that for?" I asked as I turned to face Jean, my face was probably beet red. I peeked out from behind my hands to see Jean blushing as well. His fair skin was bright pink from blushing. I tried not to giggle at how cute and ridiculous he looked. Jean always acted so cool and composed, but now he was humiliated. I felt bad, but he looked so adorable.

"I'm so sorry!" Jean shrieked, falling backwards onto the couch, covering his face up. "I ju-just d-d-don't know what c-c-came o-over me!" He stuttered as he waved his arms around himself frantically. It was obvious that he just couldn't find a way to express his apology. He glanced around nervously, refusing to even face me. Looking at the floor, he managed to choke another sorry out of his throat. He must have heard me laugh, because his head shot up. My shoulders began to shake uncontrollably with laughter. "I'm trying to be serious here, Marco!" he shouted, "I'd really appreciate it if you'd hear me out..."

"I'm sorry!" I said as I snorted another bout of laughter out. "I just, I can't help it! You looked so frantic!" I rolled on his back as I coughed out yet another laugh. "Absolutely terrified! And your face, it was so... so lova-" I cut myself off, trying to refrain from using the forbidden word 'cute'. "So ludicrous."

"I - but - you!" Jean stuttered cutely as he tried to find the right words. "I thought that you- I just- sorry?" He tried to get me to pay attention. I couldn't help but giggle at his adorable stutter. Jean blushed as he tripped over word after word. "I mean, why are you - if you're mad you can tell me - unless you're not mad, I'd really like it if you'd - never mind."

"It's fine," I waved my hand in the air as if I was waving the matter behind him. I had finally regained my composure enough to hold a decent conversation. Jean glanced up at me, his tawny brown eyes meeting mine. I smiled, reassuring him. He relaxed just a bit, the blush in his cheeks receding just a bit. "I don't mind at all."

"But!" Jean said as he tried to comprehend where I was coming from. His face flushed a pale cherry color as his mouth gaped wide open "Aren't you mad that I kissed you?" He asked in a soft whisper. I stood up and stretched my arms up to the sky with cat-like grace. I plopped back down on the carpeted floor to sit Indian style; facing Jean.

"The kiss didn't bother me one bit," Marco admitted with a shrug. "I just kind of thought you kissed me to make fun of me, like everyone else does." It was the truth. Everyone who had said or done something to show affection to me had always laughed at me before walking off. I had never had someone who truly cared about me in a romantic way before, they only ever stayed around for a few weeks. Even so, that was only to fulfill a prank or dare.

Jean sighed, running his hands through his light tan hair. His eyes went wide as he shook his head, his gaze never leaving from mine. "Marco, are you serious?! I would never make fun of you!"

"I already told you it was okay," I said with a shrug. "I'm not bothered by it."

"But it's not okay!" He hissed back. "I shouldn't have done it. I don't know how I'm going to make it up to you." Jean sighed as he sat down next to me. Rubbing his forehead with his fingers, Jean calmed down. "I'm really sorry Marco," He apologized. "I just- well-" He couldn't seem to quite find what he was going to say to me; so he did the next best thing. "Why don't you just head home? It looks like it's getting late. I'm sure your parents would want you back home," he said with a shrug.

"Okay," I nodded. "But, can I borrow a hat? My ears are really cold." I could tell Jean was cutely trying ignore my whine. Instead, he chose to go to into his room and dig a beanie out of his dresser. I immediately recognized the thing to be the hat he had worn yesterday, but I didn't mind in the slightest. The beanie was worn looking; but by far it was the cutest.

"Here," he said, tossing me the red beanie, which I narrowly caught between my hands, "hope this works." I thanked him quickly and fit the hat on top of my head. I glanced noticed that the white tag was sticking out the top of the beanie like a white flag of surrender. I chuckled, waiting to see if Jean would even notice. "Wait," Jean barked at me before I left, "you aren't wearing it correctly!"

"Bu-"

"Here," Jean yanked the hat off of my head and turned the hat the right way out. He plunked the hat down on my head, pulling it down so that it was covering my ears again. He looked from side to side, making sure that nearly my entire hairline was covered before he let me off the hook.

"Thanks!" I chirped as I left. Jean sent me a warm smile that melted my heart. This kid was too cute for his own good. Someone should let him know that. I opened my mouth to say something, but decided not to. He might not even appreciate hearing it from me, anyway.

I left "Jean casa" with my jacket on my back, his beanie on my head, and a slight smile on my face. I couldn't help but grin after spending some time with Jean. He was too adorable and innocent. He had blushed so much when he realized that he kissed me! He really, truly kissed me!

"His stutter is definitely the cutest thing about him," I sighed happily. Twirling in a circle, I smiled from ear to ear. I hopped down the sidewalk to my car and hit the Unlock button on my keys. I jerked the driver's car door open after the click that told me the car was unlocked. Putting the key in the ignition, I took one last glance towards casa de Jean. I pulled out after one last sigh of happiness. I drove for about fifteen minutes when I had to stop for some minor road construction. Whilst I was waiting for the Pilot Car I played Subway Surfers on my phone. My winning streak was interrupted by a ding coming from my phone. Subway Surfers paused and I squeaked in horror as I saw that Lucy was about to run into a train. Sighing, I switched over to my messaging app and I saw a new text message. I squealed as I saw that it was from Jean.

From: Pants

Subject: _

I sighed at his irresponsibleness. Of course Jean would leave the subject line blank. Even I have the decency to tell people my message summary before I make them read it. Jumping, I realized that I still hadn't filed the complaint about the glass doors. Those things really are a danger. They should be replaced soon.

Message: have a saf trip

Giggling at his lousy text I began to text him back. Being the all around good person I am, I MESSAGED back with proper spelling and grammar. Then I decided that since it was Jean, I should add a smiley face.

To: Pants

Subject: Me

Message: Don't worry! I'm always careful! ;)

I happily pressed SEND as I saw the Pilot Car come into view from across the street. I revved up the engine of my noisy car, happy that I might get out of the construction zone sometime this month. After exiting the rather large space reserved for road construction, I floored it to my home. my stomach growled at me all the way to my house. Once I got home, I jumped out of my car and raced for for my front door. Throwing the large oak door open, I waltzed inside like Cinderella back from her ball. Going into the kitchen, I threw my stuff on the floor and opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

"How'd your day go, Honey?" My mom was sitting on a stool by the counter top. She normally chilled on the couch; but for some reason she was n the kitchen instead

"It went awesome!" I giggled as I picked my backpack up. Dancing out of the kitchen, I ran into my dad. He didn't look like he was in the best of moods so I tried to slip past him.

"Why didn't you clean your room like I told you to?!" My dad growled at me. I whimpered as I felt his fiery gaze burn into my skin.

"I'm sorry! I'll get to it right now!" I yelped as I ran to my room. Slamming the door shut, I huddled in the sanctuary of my room. I wasn't even that messy to begin with! The only thing even on my floor was my backpack ... and a stack of comic books ... and some clothes ... and maybe a couple pairs of shoes ... and possible a few games ... some books ... and a few jackets.

Sighing in defeat, I began to clean up my room. I threw all of my comic books underneath my bed. my shoes made their way into my closet. i tossed my clothes and jackets in my dresser; my books and games went on my old desk. After a half an hour of reorganizing, redecorating, shoving things in my closet, and stacking stuff, I managed to make my room look somewhat presentable. I jumped as my phone ding to inform me of a new message. Checking my phone I realized that the message was really like five messages ... from Jean. He kept asking if I was okay and if I had made it home.

I quickly texted him back that I was home and perfectly safe. Then, plopping down on my bed, I sighed in contempt. I blushed as I clutched the same cheek that Jean had kissed. No matter how much I told myself to stop, I just couldn't stop acting like a lovestruck teenage girl.

"Maybe he likes me," I wondered aloud. "Or maybe he's just making fun of me." I hugged a pillow to my chest. "Maybe he found out that I like him." I squealed. "What am I going to do?! Dad will never approve!" I knew that no matter how nice, good, polite, cute, smart, funny, charming, sweet, respectful, and calm Jean is, dad would never give him the green light. The only reason for that is because Jean isn't a girl.

"But I like him too much," I sighed as I clutched the pillow even tighter to my chest. Rolling onto my side I pulled the beanie off of my head and snuggled with both it and my pillow. And I fell asleep like that; cuddled with a pillow and the beanie that smelled like Jean's cologne.

- Nat


	6. Chapter 5

**_How's it going? Yep, awkward conversation starter... So anyways, my writing companion is waaaaayyyy faster than I am, so you have a chapter early! Enjoy!_**

I tapped my fingers on the steering wheel of my truck, drumming a little pattern out as I thought. I squinted my eyes shut, letting out a long sigh. The rest of the week was long and strenuous, full of contemplating, pondering, and plenty of dwelling on the kiss I gave Marco... Marco... Marco... he was so cute. He was so sweet and so kind to everyone. Maybe he was even a little naive, or oblivious to the world, I don't know. I just knew that; Marco was Marco, and Marco was perfect. I loved Marco. After thinking it over, I finally came to the conclusion that I loved Marco. There was no 'no homo'-ing it now. Still, even if I did discover that I was gay, how could I just kiss Marco like that?! He might not even be gay, he could be the biggest ladies' man ever and I didn't even know it! Groaning, I slammed my head into my sterring wheel, the horn blaring out.

Not even a few seconds later, the car behind me beeped twice, catching my attention and causing me to remove my head from the wheel. I rolled my window down and turned to face out of it, coming face to face with an angry looking man wearing a suit in the car behind me. "Come on, you jack wagon! Some of us have jobs that we get paid to do to get to today! Now hurry up and get off the road before I get out of this car and make you!" I shot the enraged man a nervous smile and an apology, turning back to the front of my truck and starting down the road again. Even though I didn't know the guy, he was right. I needed to stop daydreaming about Marco and keep myself focused on the task at hand. Then again, it wans't my fault that Marco was so flawless.

As I rolled into the parking lot of the school, I made my decision that I was going to talk to Marco today and ask him out on a date. I didn't know how or when, but I was going to do it. Today. I found an empty lot and glided into it, shifting my vehicle into park and pulling the keys out of the engine. The car died down and the radio flicked off, leaving me alone in the silence. Moments later, I opened my car door and leapt out, turning to open the backseat and grab my school bag out of it. I walked into the school, and only then the shock settled in. Oh god, I'm going to do it.

I sat through my homeroom and first period, trying my very best to focus on anything but Marco. However, that proved to be nearly impossible. Luckily, it was Friday, so the schedule was shorter today. I don't think I'd be able to get him off of my mind until I asked him out, and even then, I probably wouldn't be able to. I left first period and went to my locker, grabbing the books I'd need for second and third period when I heard a familiar laugh furthur down the hall. I leaned back, my eyes finding the taller freckled boy walking this way down the hall. I took a deep breath, slamming the door to my locker shut. Okay, Jean, I thought to myself, you can do this. You're a... man's man? Whatever. You're asking him out. This is your chance, use it.

I started walking down the hall in Marco's direction, even though it was the complete opposite of what way I needed to be walking to get to my next class. I saw Marco was walking with Eren, which irritated me just a little bit, but the fact that stupid Jaeger was there wasn't going to stop me. Well, maybe. He didn't need to know I was gay yet, God forbid that he find out. As I passed by Marco, I tugged on his shirt sleeve, grabbing his attention. When he turned around to face me, I felt my face go red, maybe I wasn't ready to do this yet. "H-Hey Marco, I had a question," I stuttered, only embarrassing myself further.

"Yes?" Marco asked, his cheeks rising as a smile appeared on his lips, his entire face lighting up and making my heart skip a beat. His smile was so adorable it could stop all wars and cure cancer. The best thing was, he smiled so much. Meanwhile, Eren groaned and rolled his eyes, shoving past me down the hall to his next class. The halls were clearing out, signalling that the four minutes between classes were ticking away. "Ignore Eren, what were you going to ask me?" he asked.

"Well, er, I um, ah..." I stumbled over and over my words, trying to force my question out. I ran my hand throuhg the back of my hair, glancing away as I felt my cheeks heat up. I glanced back up at him, deciding to force my question out, not even caring how it came out at this point. As long as I got it out, it was good enough for me. "Would you want to come hang out with me later this evening? Like- like, maybe go out to the mall and just hang out? I don't know, I just really wanna-"

"Jean, Jean, oh my gosh, Jean, shut up," Marco laughed, pushing me lightly and grinning from ear to ear. By now, the halls were nearly cleared out, save for a few kids practically sprinting to make the bell. I muttered a swear under my breath, just knowing I'd get a detention for getting caught in the hall and arriving to class late. Marco chuckled, and Iooked up to find him blushing, my heart fluttering. "Jean, I'd love to hang out with you this afternoon. Eren drove me to school today, so we won't have to worry about transportation like last time. But now, I think we should focus on making it to class. We'll talk about this later, okay?" he said, smirking, "See you later, Jean!"

"Yeah, see you, Marco!" I said, turning down the hall and heading to my second period class. I watched Marco over my schoulder and waved to him. I nearly ran into a door, but it was worth it. So was the detention I recieved for next Monday.

I walked out of the school, stretching my arms high above my head as I let out a sigh. I shifted the shoulder straps on my bag, readjusting them so they didn't dig into my shoulders near as much. I pulled out my phone to shoot Marco a text, asking him where he was and if he was ready to go. Then, I heard the dark haired male's voice shout out, calling my name. "Jean, Jean!" I looked up from my phone to find Marco waiting by my truck, waving his arms frantically over his head to grab my attention. I chuckled under my breath, smiling as I laid my eyes on him. I waved back and jogged over to my truck to meet with Marco. He laughed when I reached him, staring down at his shoes. "Finally, I was starting to worry that you wouldn't remove your eyes from your phone!"

"Sorry, sorry," I mumbled half-heartedly under my breath, shaking my head. I dug the keys out of the front pocket of my bag, unlocking my truck. "I was going to send you a text, just so you know," I added, slipping past Marco and to the driver's seat of my truck. I grasped the handle, turning my head to face Marco, who stared at me expectantly. "Are you ready?" I asked him.

"Oh! Yeah, sorry," he chuckled, shaking his head. I nodded, swining the door open and plopping down into the driver's seat. I jammed the key into the ignition, wiggling it in until my vehicle dinged at me, notifying me that it was ready to go. The engine roared to life as Marco scampered over to the passenger seat side, leaping into the chair next to me. He closed the door, closing us off from the rest of the world. I felt as if this would be the perfect opportunity to throw myself to the other side of the car and just kiss him. Nothing else, just kiss the beautiful boy in front of me. But I couldn't do that, I could never do that to Marco. I watched him as he buckled up, turning to face me with a thumbs-up and a small laugh. "Ready to go!"

I took a deep breath and shifted around in my seat, placing my hands on the wheel. Ten and two, just like dad taught you, I thought to myself. I had never been the greatest driver, and I didn't always trust myself. I constantly worried I'd end up in a wreck and injure myself horribly. Now, there were two people in the vehicle, two lives I was responsible. I backed out of the parking lot, gliding back onto one of the main roads, heading in the direction of the local mall. "I was thinking that maybe we could hang out at the mall for a little while, maybe see a movie or grab something to eat or... something. I don't know, what do you think?" I asked aloud, not daring remove my eyes from the road as I glided into the massive parking lot of the mall.

"That actually sounds great!" Marco said. I could practically hear him smiling through his voice, just thinking about that little smile of his made me nervous. I slowed down the speed of my car, driving up and down the lanes of the lot until I found a place I found acceptable. I didn't want to walk very far to get into the mall and I don't think Marco would either, so I spent a bit of time trying to find the lot closest to the mall entrance. I drove into one of the spots about seven from the front, parking the truck. I jiggled the key out of the ignition, and Marco and I exited the truck. "Thanks so much for taking me out tonight, I'm so glad we get to hang out!" Marco said as we walked up to the main entrance of the mall.

"Yeah, no problem. I'm happy to," I answered, hopping ahead of him and holding the door open for him. Was this too much, would he think I'm trying to make a move on him? I am, but would he appreciate it? I thought, my head almost throbbing from too much worry. I bowed, shooting Marco a smirk, which made him laugh as he walked inside. I jogged to catch up with him, slowing down my pace to walk right next to him. I watched him as we walked along, studying him. His freckles traced across his cheeks, mainly congregating on the bridge of his nose. His brown eyes were big and wide, always eager to observe the world around them. He smiled so often, you'd think it was painted on his face. He was taller than me, but only by about an inch or two. "So," I said, letting out a short breath, "what do you want to-"

"Oh my gosh, is that one of those bungee jump things?" Marco gasped, his jaw dropping open as he choked out a laugh. I cocked an eyebrow, a bit concerned. Did he seriously want to do that? I was crushing on a guy with the absolute dorkiest interests, and I loved it. He turned to me, trying his very best not to laugh. "Oh man, Eren and I went to the mall when we were about thriteen and we tried that out, and he was trying so hard, but all he could do was hang upside down! It was so hilarious!" He laughed, holding onto his mid sections. I smirked, the idea of stupid Jaeger not being able to do something so simple was actually rather funny. "Okay, I'm done laughing now," Marco said, taking a deep breath, "what were you saying before I cut you off?"

"Uh, I was just asking what you wanted to do first, now that we're here," I said, running a hand through my hair as we walked along. I glanced down, my eyes meeting his hand. Even his forearms were freckled; adorable. I thought of how perfectly my hand would fit in his, just like the piece of a puzzle. I wanted to hold his hand and swing it in sync with out footsteps and maybe accidentally hit Marco in the leg with it. But I couldn't do that to him.

"Well, I am sort of hungry," Marco announced, glancing over at the stores that lined the walls. He looked back to me, his brows raised expectantly. "I think there's a Cheesecake Factory in here somewhere, if memory serves right. Maybe we could head there?" he asked.

"Sounds great, let's do it," I answered.

-Oli


	7. Chapter 6

_**Yay! Mock Trial and Musical are both over! I can finally stay writing again! (Now Speech competitions start. Public speaking for the win...). So with that, I give you-the next chapter!**_

**Marco's Point of View**

After waiting in line to be seated for forever, I peaked over Jean's shoulder to see that the line wasn't moving in the slightest. "Jean," I said, tapping his shoulder to get his attention, "can we go elsewhere? The line isn't moving at all."

"Where did you have in mind?" Jean asked. He didn't look the happiest at leaving from the Cheesecake Factory, but the place I wanted to go was gonna be way better.

"There's a Chocolate Factory outside of town!" I chirped.

Jean looked slightly skeptical. "Dinner... At a Chocolate Factory?" he questioned.

"Yeah!" I jumped. "It'll be fun! It's chocolate, how could it not be fun?!" I had never actually been to the Chocolate Factory before, but my mom had told me all about how she worked there when she was a bit older than my age.

"You're the boss," Jean said, shrugging. We both exited the Cheesecake Factory and I pulled Jean along with me to his car.

Jean and I arrived to the Chocolate Factory after getting lost three times, getting stuck in traffic, and running over a skunk and almost running over a cat. I couldn't help but worry about Jean and his reckless driving, he was bound to end up in an accident someday! Once we arrived to the factory Jean parked the car and rushed to open my sorry for me.

"Jean- what are you-"

"Being a gentleman," Jean interrupted as he helped me out of the passenger side of the car. After announcing to me of his gentlemanity he proceeded to take off his pink sunglasses. Stifling a giggle I hooked my arm through his. We walked to the entrance of the factory and I couldn't help but notice the light blush on Jean's face.

"Are you blushing?" I teased him, pinching his cheeks.

"I'm not blushing," Jean muttered. "It's... Just... Uh... Hot out." Jean fumbled over his fibs in the cutest way.

"Sure," I agreed as I pulled my other half to the glass doors. Freezing in my tracks, I took a mental note to email Principle Levi about the glass doors at the school. Those doors are without a doubt a huge risk factor for students! I was so caught up with my ranting that I didn't hear Jean.

"Yoohoo," Jean asked as he knocked lightly on my head, "anyone home in the Marco residence?"

"What?"

"Oh good!" Jean sighed in relief, "I thought I lost you for a moment." I gently brushed his hand away from my head and made a gesture for him to continue. "Yeah, um, the sign says they're closed until next Monday."

I glanced around to see what sign he was referring to. Jean assisted my search with a finger jerk in the direction of the said sign. Spotting a pink, 8" x 11" paper above the glass doors, I began to read.

_Due to malfunctions with the plant's main electricity source- we will be closed until Monday._

"Darn it," I muttered angrily. I had really been looking forward to spending the day at the Chocolate Factory with Jean.

"How 'bout we go out to eat somewhere else instead?" Jean suggested. Not wanting to ruin the day, I decided that I should not spoil the good mood just by sporting a sour attitude.

"Why not?" I asked, putting on a playful half smile as Jean and I skipped back to the car. Even though I was disappointed beyond reason, I put on a smile. In reality, no matter what I'm doing, as long as Jean's with me I should be happy.

"That's the spirit!" Jean remarked as he opened my door for me. I giggled and decided to push my limits.

"Can I drive?" I asked.

"I'd rather live to take you out for dinner," Jean replied bluntly.

"Oh come on!" I whined, "I'm not half bad!" Rolling his eyes, Jean muttered something to tell me to just get in the car. I couldn't help but reach up to ruffle his hair before I "parked it" in the seat. Jean blushed like crazy and his cheeks were redder than Snow White's apple. He was honestly way too adorable for words.

"So um, where do you wanna go to eat?" Jean asked awkwardly as he crawled into the driver's side of the car. "I don't really mind wherever we go. It's your choice."

"You don't have to let me decide," I offered. "I don't really care where we go either."

"You choose."

"No you choose," I was slightly irritated that Jean was treating me like a girl. Because everyone knows that when you go on "straight dates" the girl chooses where they both eat in most cases. If the woman ain't happy, ain't no one happy. But I'm not a woman, I'll be happy if Jean's happy.

"You."

"No, you," I was determined to win this argument.

"Ladies first." Jean smirked as he hit me with a classic retort.

"Age before beauty," I shot back.

"Wait," Jean stopped, "Are you sure I'm older than you?"

I stopped to think for a moment. "Touche."

"In all seriousness," Jean stated, "you choose before my stomach implodes."

"Bu-" I tried to talk but was interrupted.

"I'll choose next time," Jean offered.

I decided to tease him. "How are you so sure there'll be a next time?" I smirked as Jean looked at me, flabbergasted. After a second of surprise, Jean returned his eyes to mine and smirked.

"You just can't resist all this," He said as he motioned to himself, caressing his sides.

Rolling my eyes I answered. "Easy there, tiger," I taunted. "Why don't we take things one step at a time?"

Jean's grin was that of a little boy in a comic book store who's mom told him he could get as many as he wanted. "Where to?"

"Just..um.. why not take me to the restaurant where you work?" I suggested.

"Next stop," Jean paused for dramatic effect, "Black-Eyed Pea."

Jean led me to a two person table near a window and we both took our seats while a waiter left to fetch two menus. My date had grumbled about the whole menu thing. According to him, he knew the menu, "Inside out, upside down, right side up, by heart, and in his sleep."

"Um sorry sirs!" Our waiter stumbled to the table clumsily. "I'm new here an-"

"Luke," Jean interrupted, "It's just me."

This didn't calm 'Luke' down in the slightest. The waiter accidentally hit Jean upside the head with the menus. "I'm so sorry.. Jean.. sir?.. I'm just nervo-"

"Luke," Jean ordered, "calm down. This is your third night on the job, and I trained you myself, you're fine." The waiter fumbled, stumbled, and apologized a little less after the short and somewhat pathetic pep talk from Jean. After only ten painfully long minutes did the young waiter-in-training come rushing back to the table with a glass of iced tea and a soda pop.

"Here you go!" Luke said as he faked a cheerful smile. "One iced tea," He said as he set a glass of water in front of me, "and one Pepsi." Luke set the soda down on the table in front of Jean.

"Thank you!" I said. I didn't mean to seem overly cheerful, but I came off as a total naive and happy go lucky guy. Mentally cursing my freckles, I chuckled awkwardly.

"Now," Luke began as he pulled a yellow notepad from his apron, "what can I get for you two?" I looked at Jean as if to say that he should go first. I had been so busy talking with Jean that I had forgotten all about reading the menu.

"I'll have the spaghetti," Jean requested as he handed the menu to Luke.

"What about you freckles- I mean sir?" Luke asked me. I was a little bit surprised by him using the nickname Jean gave me - did he talk about me like that at work or something?

"I guess I'll have the same thing as Jean," I said. The waiter nodded as he scribbled down a short note on his notepad.

"I'll get these put in and will be back in a little bit," Luke announced as he walked towards the kitchen. He let out a squeak as he stubbed his toe on a table. Jean and I both had to stifle a laugh at the waiter.

After about seven minutes of waiting for our food Jean and I began to run out of sensible topics for polite conversation. We both sat at the table and stared at each other for the longest time. "So...uh... wanna thumb wrestle?" I asked. Jean smirked and said some snide remark to throw me off of my game.. I ignored him and held out my hand across the table. Jean grabbed my hand and muttered something along the lines of "en guard" to me.

We had been playing the first match for almost five minutes when Jean finally managed to wrestle my thumb down flat. "You cheated," I whined to Jean.

"You just can't handle the fact that I beat you," Jean bragged. "Oh look," he changed the subject, "food's here." Our clumsy waiter was no where in sight. In Luke's place was a much older woman.

"Here's you food," the woman announced. "Luke had an emergency."

"Is he okay?" I asked, genuinely worried for the guy.

"He just slipped in a missed puddle in the kitchen," she answered as if it was a daily occurrence. "Luke just twisted his ankle." The woman went on with gently placing the plates in their respective spots.

"Again?" Jean asked. "That's the second time in the past three days!" The woman merely nodded. Apparently, Luke was too clumsy for his own good.

"Anyhow," the woman said, "enjoy the food. Oh and uh.. have a nice date." She left with a pointed look at our hands, that were intertwined, on the table. Jean and I blushed simultaneously as we rushed to pull our hands away.

"I'm sorry," Jean apologized as he hid his embarrassment by digging in to his plate of spaghetti.

"It's okay," I said. I was kind of hurt that he apologized for holding my hand.

"Don't," Jean said.

"Don't what?" I asked, confused.

"You don't have to pretend this is okay with you. I don't want you to accept me out of pity," Jean muttered. His face was flushed with embarrassment and I would've chuckled at his cute behavior if it weren't for the fact that he actually thought I was nice to him because I pitied him.

"No," I answered. "I don't mind because I enjoy it. I like spending time with you, and.. I ... kind of like you too." I hid my face as I admitted the last line quietly. It was spoken in a care whisper, but by the look on Jean's face- he'd caught it.

After the dilemma with Jean's insecurity issues, we decided that it'd be best to order dessert too. I couldn't help but be overly impressed by the dessert selection. After a few minutes of some heavy debating, Jean and I decided that we both wanted a slice of chocolate cake. It was obviously to make up for the time that we didn't get to spend at the factory.

"So," Jean began, "would you like to go to the movies after this?"

I stopped eating my chocolate cake mid bite to answer him. "You sure? If you had other plans, I don't want to ruin them or anything."

"You're my plans," Jean replied. "Oh wow. Sorry. That came out a little weird. I just mean tha-"

I laughed at the flustered Jean. "Does this make it a date?" I teased Jean.

"Only if you want it to be," he said with a shrug and a smile. We hurried and finished our cake so we could make it to the theatre in time to catch the start of Mockingjay. Since both Jean and I had long awaited this movie, we decided to go to it. About halfway through the movie I began to unconsciously lean on Jean's shoulder. A little while later I realized that I had begun to cling to Jean every time something bad happened.

"You okay over there?" Jean asked me quietly. He had leaned his head down so that he just brushed the tip of my ear with his chin. He paused like that and I took a moment to twist around and look at him. What I felt in my stomach wasn't butterflies, it was a chainsaw, going nuts.

Then my perfect moment was spoiled by some random kid in the back yelling, "GAYYY!"

Jean whipped around to growl at the kid, but instead choose to flip him the bird. Lifting the middle finger of his right hand in the air he gripped my chin with his left hand and held my head in place as he leaned down to peck a kiss on my lips.

"Ah!" I squealed and hid my face in Jean shoulder for the remainder of the movie. It wasn't that I didn't like the kiss, I just didn't want Jean to see my blushing face. Once the Mockingjay Part 1 had ended, Jean walked me to his car and began the drive to my house.

At first we had planned on going to his apartment to play video games, but then he had remembered homework that needed to be done, so we decided it'd be best to go home. Once Jean pulled the car up to my house he jumped out to get my door for me. After the first few hundred times of Jean doing this for me, I was pretty used to the special treatment. What I didn't expect was Jean to walk me up to the door.

Once we got to the door, Jean stopped me to say goodbye. "Well, I guess I see ya later," Jean said awkwardly.

"Yeah, you too," I said as I went to open the door.

"Wait!" Jean said. "Um, Marco... how would you like to do this again sometime?"

"Sure...I guess," I answered. If he meant, eat dinner, go to the movies, and kiss just for the fun of ticking off annoying kids, why not?

"Well, what I'm trying to say... is... well...," Jean paused, "Marco, will you be my boyfriend?" I stood in shock for a moment, and a little too long. "If you don't want to-" Jean began. I however, didn't let him finish. I cut Jean off with a kiss.

"Of course I'll be your boyfriend!" I yelped happily. I was so excited and happy. Jean had asked me out, just like I had been waiting for.

-Nat


	8. Chapter 7

_**So this was written a while ago. I kind of forgot about it and didn't edit it when I was emailed it last Wednesday-ish. Anyways, it's done. Have fun. Happy Reading. Merry Christmas super early!**_

When I returned to school the following Monday, I had quite a bit of trouble containing my excitement. It felt a little strange to me, since I had never realized I liked guys before, but I was going to see my boyfriend at school. My totally adorable freckled boyfriend, Marco. I couldn't help but smile every time I even thought about him. Over one weekend, he had become my entire world. Some people might've thought that we were just 'experimenting' or 'going through a phase'. To me, it felt right, like this was how it was supposed to be for me. Of course, I'm also supposed to pay attention to the road; I almost missed the turn to arrive at school.

Once parked in the appropriate parking lot for the Juniors, I grabbed my bag out of the back seat, jolting up to the front of the school. I entered the school, huffing under my breath a bit. Typically, I never arrived this early, but I wanted to see Marco before I headed to my first period class; We only shared fourth hour American History and seventh hour Anatomy and Physiology. I rounded the corner, slipping down the hall to my locker, number 79. I threw it open and tossed my jacket inside, trading it out for the American Literature short story that I was supposed to read but didn't actually ever get around to reading it. I had never been particularly great when it came to any of English classes, but Literature was the worst. With a sigh, I slammed the door to my locker, only to find someone waiting behind the door. "Good morning, Jean!" Marco greeted with a smile.

I jumped back a bit, letting out a little squeal and loosing grip of my American Literature assignment. It was something along the lines of 'Things In A Dead Guy's Pocket' or something. I flailed around, diving to the floor to catch it just before it landed on the ground. I let out a low sigh of relief as Marco erupted into laughter. I glanced up and shot a glare at him, but it's not like I could stay mad at him for too long; he was my boyfriend, for Pete's sake. I brushed off my jeans, standing up and facing Marco. "How are you so chipper so early? Here I am, barely awake right now."

"Point A, I'm usually this chipper. It's just in my nature," Marco explained with a little shrug and an tiny smile that made my heart beat faster. I felt my cheeks burn red, and pink tint began to show up on Marco's face as well. And just to think, this boy is mine. My very own boyfriend, I thought to myself, grinning. "Point B," Marco continued with a laugh, "I wake up at 6:00 A.M. sharp every morning. It gives me a lot of time to wake up. Point C, you're nowhere near as bad as Eren. I told him good morning earlier, and I swear, it's like he had a black cloud following him around!"

"Good to know, I'll remain five feet away from him at all times until ten-thirty," I said with a nod, Marco exploding into laughter. His freckles danced across his cheeks, jumping around in every direction. I smiled as he regained control of himself, I loved it when I could do something so simple and it would make him happy. There wasn't a doubt in my mind that I had the best boyfriend a guy could ask for. I looked down and slid my phone out of my pocket, checking the time. There were only a few more minutes until the bell rang, and the English classroom was on the opposite side of the school. Not to mention, I was already on bad terms with my teacher. "Hey, Marco, I've gotta get going. I don't wanna be late for English. I'll see you in fourth period, okay?" I told him, looking up into his big, brown eyes.

"Okay," he replied with an understanding nod. He glanced around, making sure there wasn't anybody around. Or, at least, anybody watching. The halls were rather bare, but here and there, there was a small group of students standing around and chatting. I glance back up to Marco, only to be surprised by a kiss on the cheek. "Bye, Jean!" he said as he walked back down the hall to pre-calculus, leaving me completely frozen by his actions. I lifted my hand up to feel the skin where his lips had met my face, touching it gingerly. I couldn't wait for fourth period.

Luckily for me, the day seemed to move along a lot faster than I had presumed it would. Or maybe it was the lack of attention I was giving in class, I don't know. Either way, it meant that I got to see Marco again soon. My eyes were glued to the clock for the last few minutes of my third period, counting down the seconds until I got to see Marco again. To say the least, I was the first out of the room by the time that the bell had rang, signalling the end of class, as well as my cue to see Marco again.

I dashed down the hallway, now loaded with students, pushing over freshman and other obstacles out of the way. Luckily, my locker was stationed right in front of the History classroom. I chucked the metal door open, ripping the American History book off of the top shelf. I turned back around and caught a glance of Marco walking down the hall, smiling and laughing with Eren. I waved my hand subtly, hoping the little gesture would be enough to grab his attention. Luckily, it did. He turned to face me, smiling and waving in response. I wiggled my eyebrows at him as I shoved through the doorway next to him, making him blush and laugh. Marco Bodt was too adorable for words.

I was distracted in American History, to say the very least. I think we were taking notes on the Cold War or something, I don't know. I wasn't able to stop myself from glancing over at Marco, who sat on the other side of the classroom, listening to our teacher, Mister Zacharius, and scribbling down notes. The loud ring of the bell surprised me, jolting me back into reality. I shook my head, blinking a few times to wake myself up from my daze. I reached down to snatch my backpack, only to be surprised that it wasn't there. I glanced up, finding Marco standing before me with a smile on his face and my bag in his hand. "I thought I'd wait for you," he said.

I sat still for a moment, my lips slightly parted as I tried to formulate something to repond with. I stared up at Marco, unable to look away. Was it even possible for someone to be that sweet? "T-Thanks," I stuttered, unable to come up with anything more intelligent to repond with. I stood up, taking my bag from Marco's hand, my palm lightly brushing against his. I squeezed past him. Exiting the classroom and tossing my bag into the bottom of my locker, I spun back around on my heel, coming face to face with Marco. He's, like, kissing distance away right now, I thought to myself, my heartbeats racing faster. I moved towards him only to be cut off by three words.

"Hold my hand?" Marco asked quietly, his brown eyes glued down at his shoes. Just for a moment, he tilted his head up slightly, his eyes meeting with mine. Blush mixed with his freckled, and he laughed nervously. "Sorry, sorry, I know it's school and all, but - you know, you're kind of my boyfriend, and I just-" I shook my head as he continued to ramble, grabbing his left hand with my right. I could feel both of us watching our hands, even I was a bit surprised myself. His hand felt nice, resting in mine, like they were meant to hold each other. I took a few steps ahead of Marco, pulling the dark-haired boy along behind me. I glanced back to face him, his face beaming. "Thanks," he replied.

As soon as Marco and I had grabbed our lunches from the cafeteria, which didn't look half bad for once, we headed over to the seating area and sat down next to Marco's set of friends. Armin was babbling away to Eren and Mikasa, who were both listening intently to the blonde. Sasha was swiping food off of Connie's plate when he wasn't looking, the bald male trying to make sense of what Armin was saying. When Marco and I sat down, squeezed close together, Sasha stopped in the middle of her chicken nugget thievery, looking over to Marco and I with wide eyes. Connie snatched the nugget back from Sasha's fingers while she was distracted, and the other three stopped their conversation for a moment. After a few seconds, all seven of us were silent until Eren snorted under his breath. "Wow, Jean," he remarked with a smirk. I leaned over the table, glaring at the chuckling brunette. "I didn't know you had the capability to turn Marco gay."

With Eren's statement, I felt my previously happy mood quickly grow sour. My eyes went wide with rage, my brows pushed into a glare. I felt my hands clench into hard fists, shaking even slightly. Sure, I'd recieve the common insult of 'gay' every now and then, but for Eren, one of Marco's friends, to blatantly call him out as gay? Sure, it wasn't wrong, but the fashion he used it in felt like he was insulting him. I shot up from my seat, and I felt Marco' hand grab my wrist. Ignoring it, I shot a glare over at Eren. "What did you just say, Jaeger?" I questioned.

"Don't pretend you didn't hear me," he snickered, leaning back in his seat. That was it, that was it. I ripped myself away from Marco, despite his pleas, and stormed over to Eren. While he was busy laugh, that's when I hit. My fist went sailing into his face, leaving a dark red mark on his left cheek. He sat in shock for a moment, attempting to register what had just happened as the table fell silent. He tilted his head up to me, his eye forming into daggers and penetrating through mine. "Do you wanna go?!" he shouted, jumping up onto his seat. Before I could even utter a response, we were already gone.

I don't remember what kinds of hits were thrown, but I know for sure that we both came out with our fair share of beatings. As soon as our fight had started, it had ended. I felt a pair of arms loop through mine, pulling me away from Eren. I tilted my head back, coming face to face with our mustachioed Histroy teacher, Mister Zacharius. I looked over at Eren, only to find him being restrained by the librarian, Nanaba. She might've been small, but she was a lot stronger than you'd think. Ms. Hanji sat at the lunch table, talking with Marco and the others. I heard a door swing open, and Superintendent Smith was at the scene. The only thought that came to mind; Oh crap. "Marco Bodt, Jean Kirstein, please come join me in the office," he announced, gesturing for us to come along with him. "Eren, don't think you're getting out of this without punishment, either," he told the brunette on our way out of the gym.

Marco and I silently followed the Superintendent to the office, where he led us into his office. We each sat down in a chair before his desk. I rached forward, tracing the wooden plaque that read 'Erwin Smith' on his desk. The tall blonde man in front of us sat down on the plush red seat behind the desk, folding his hands in his lap. "So I've heard that all of this is going down because you two," he said, gesturing to Marco and I, "are a couple now."

"I-is that a problem, sir?" Marco stuttered, shifting around in his seat.

"I personally don't have a problem with it; that's not to say that other people won't have a problem with it. My advice would be not to show any displays of affection around the school," Mister Smith stated, nodding his head as he swiveled back and forth in his seat. Marco and I nodded along, he had a very good point. "You never know what kind of people may be homophobic, and you never know how they may react. I'd hate to punish you two for something like this. Now, punishment for violence, that's another story," Mister Smith wagged his finger, referencing how I had assaulted Eren, "it's not my job to give you a punishment for that act, but I can assure you that Principal Levi will have something to say about this, Mister Kirstein. That is all I have for now, you two are dismissed."

-Oli


	9. Chapter 8

_**Heeeeeyyyy. I'm not dead! I'm just really slow at writing! So, Merry Late Christmas! Enjoy the update! Reeeaaaad! Bye!**_

**Marco's Point of View**

I rushed to cram my things in my backpack so I would catch Jean before he left school. Putting three textbooks in my bag, I managed to accidentally knock my calculator and pencil sharpener from the shelf in my locker. Sighing, I kneeled down to pick them up.

"What's the rush freckles?" I jumped when I heard Jean's voice and dropped my calculator again.

"I thought you were about to leave," I said while zipping up my backpack, I stood up. "So glad I caught you!" he smiled.

Jean chuckled before ruffling my hair. "You know I couldn't leave without seeing you first," Jean said as I blushed as I waved off Jean's hand. "What did you want to see me for, Freckles?"

"Well," I stuttered. I wasn't quite sure how to say it to Jean - not to mention I wasn't quite sure what his reaction would be. "I...uh... never mind, its not that important."

"Come on," Jean said, "anything you have to say is important." I gave Jean a pointed look. "To me.. anything you have to say is important to me." Throwing my backpack on, I kicked my locker shut and grabbed Jean's hand to walk him to his car. Sure, Superintendent Smith advised against us showing any PDA in a public setting, but I just couldn't help myself!

Feeling less awkward, I decided to just go ahead and ask. "Jean," I began, "do you... wanna come over for dinner at my place?" Avoiding looking Jean in the eyes, I awaited his reply. What if he didn't want to come over? What if he didn't want to be seen with me by my parents? What if he thought I was pressuring him into meeting my parents? Was it too soon to ask him about this? I wasn't sure about any of it.

"Why not?" Jean asked. My eyes immediately shot up to see a dashing smile play across my boyfriend's face. "I can't wait. I'm sure your mom wouldn't mind pulling out Baby Freckles pictures for her son's boyfriend. Maybe I'll get lucky and she'll even let me see home videos." Jean teased. By now, his smile had turned into a full out smirk.

"Jeaaan!" I whined as I hit his arm. "Don't you dare!" Jean ignored my abuse and gave me a peck on the nose. Yep, Superintendent Smith's advice did nothing for us.

"Don't worry, Freckles," he smiled, "I will be the perfect gentleman." I didn't really have the heart to tell him everything I had left out. It was kind of unfair not to tell him - but I couldn't just rain on his parade by letting him know I hadn't even told my family of our relationship yet!

"How about I drive us to my house?" I asked. "I mean, we could play video games until supper."

Jean laughed lightly. "You do realize that by the time we get to your house it will be time for supper?"

I shrugged, "I guess your right." With that Jean and I made our way to my car. I made sure to hustle and jump in the driver's side. "Don't worry about the driving," I announced as Jean reluctantly crawled in the passenger's seat. "I'm not half bad at this."

"I'm sure," Jean said as he made a show of buckling up. "Just to be on the safe side, I have 911 on speed-dial."

"Jean, are you kidding me? You're seriously that lazy? It's three numbers!" I said in exasperation. "I'm so hurt that you don't trust my driving."

"I'm sorry, babe," Jean apologized, giving me those adorable puppy eyes that always managed to get him out of trouble. For the cherry on the top of his apology, Jean leaned over the center consul to give me a kiss on the cheek. "Forgive me?"

"Always," I answered with a sigh. Jean would always be readily forgiven.

"I'm impressed Freckles," Jean said with a laugh. "We're both here, and in one piece!"

Jean and I made our way to the front door of my house and he opened the door for me with a flourish. As we both walked in we were bombarded by my mother. She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth as a smile lit up her face. "Honey, you brought a friend home!" she exclaimed as she rushed to shake Jean's hand. "I'm Mrs. Bodt, Marco's mother. Feel free to call me Mom. Who might you be?"

"I'm Jean," he answered with a goofy smile. I internally sighed as I prepared for my mother to become embarrassing. I rarely brought friends to my house, and the few times I have she managed to successfully embarrass me to death. For instance: three months ago I brought Eren over for a Jackie Chan movie marathon- mom busted out the Baby Marco Taking a Bath Photo Album. Why me?

"_The_ Jean?" My mom asked. Her eyebrows were raised dramatically. I groaned, and instantly regretted telling her about going to the movies with Jean. I never came out and told her it was a date, but I had to tell someone about the amazing night. (I did, however, leave out the kiss incident.) "Marco's told me _all _about you."

"He has?" Jean asked with a huge smirk on his face. He gave flashed my mother a completely natural smile. That is before he let me see his devil smirk. I folded my hands and prayed, pleaded, and begged that she didn't mention that I told her about the date that I didn't say was a date.

"Yeah," She said nodding. "You're the guy Marco helped clean the locker rooms with." And mom of the year award goes to... "Well, I bet you boys are starving!"

"You're right about that Mrs. B," Jean assured her. "I can't wait!" Mom lead us to the dining room, but I stopped Jean from going in.

"Please don't try and gain brownie points from my mom," I begged Jean in a hushed whisper.

He merely gave me a Nobel Prize worthy smirk. "I really wanna see those Baby Pics, and I will do anything to make that happen." I gave a cry of defeat as Jean walked into the dining room. Quickly following my 'Secret Boyfriend', I hoped that my dad wasn't home. God forbid he and Jean meet yet.

"Who are you?" I groaned as I heard my father's voice from across the room. Things were about to get really awkward.

Twenty minutes, three games of footsie with Jean, a glass of water, and half a plate of lasagna later I was almost dying from the tense atmosphere. All four of us were seated at a rectangular table, my father at the head, Jean sitting across from me, and my mother at the end, facing my father..

My mom was the first to break the silence. "So, Jean, how are things at school?"

Jean smiled and politely answered. "Not bad, just the usual."

"The usual?" My father asked, he was interested.

"Umm," Jean paused, "just a few quarrels and the occasional detention." I could see the look of horror pass across his face as he realized what he had admitted to my father. If I could read minds, his would probably be saying, "Oh crap. Now they think I'm some bully or punk!"

"Hmmm," My father gave me a long look and I ducked my head down to shovel a small fork of lasagna in my mouth.

"Great job, mom," I said. It must have been really obvious that I was trying to take the spotlight away from Jean.

"I thought you didn't care for lasagna?" She asked suspiciously. We all fell into another awkward silence. This one lasted for about three minutes. This time, Jean was the one to cut into the silence.

"So Freckles," Jean began as he looked at me, "what do you wanna do when we finish up?" I giggled at my pet name, and for some reason forgot where we were.

"I was thinking maybe we could watch a movie," I suggested with a smile.

"A romcom?" Jean asked. "Or how about an action film?" I was really wrapped up in talking to Jean and didn't even realize that my mother and father had taken interest in my conversation.

"Maybe," I thought for a moment, "a horror movie!"

"So you can cling to me in fear?" Jean teased. "Don't worry Freckles," he assured, "I'll be there for you to hug if you can't handle it."

"What?!" My father choked on a piece of food. "Cling? Hugging?" He gave me an evil look. "What is with this talk of hugging? You're- You're both boys!" My father didn't just look suspicious of Jean and I's relationship, he looked like he flat out _knew_ what was going on!

"I'm sure it's just teasing between boys," my mother insisted.

"Didn't you two know?" Jean asked with pure and utter innocence on his face and in his voice. "Marco and I-" I cut Jean off with a kick from underneath the table. "-are really... close?" he tried to fix his little mistake, but neither of my parents seemed to believe him.

"Mom, Dad," I began, "I have something to tell you."

"We're listening," my father growled.

"I, uh... I'm..." I was still too scared to say it. Pausing to work up the courage I just blurted it out, "I'm gay!"

"What?!" My dad stood up fast and slammed his hands on the table.

Whimpering in fear, I continued. "I-i-i-'m gay. And Jean is my boyfriend." I was completely scared and didn't know how my father was going to take this. However, I was assured that it wasn't going to be pretty.

"Get out," My father growled. Jean stood up and walked around the table to help me stand up. Even though I didn't want to anger my father further, Jean didn't seem to care. He helped me stand up and supported my weight as my legs were quivering too much to stand alone. He gave me a hug.

"Don't worry Marco," Jean said as he rubbed my hair. "I'll just leave and let things cool down. Then we can do this over again; hopefully with better results." He gave me a light peck on the nose before beginning to walk out the doorway.

"Wait," my dad ordered. Jean turned around. For a second I was hopeful that he had changed his mind. "I want both of you... homosexuals," my father spat out the word, "out of my house."

"But," My mom and I both protested.

My dad glared up at me, "I don't want to see your face until you've repented of your ways and become... normal again."

Without thinking I rushed forward to try and sooth his anger by patting his shoulder. "Dad-" I was cut off by my father's hand striking me across the face. Jean came running back to my rescue and pulled me back to shelter me in his arms.

"Don't touch me, you homosexual scum," my dad hissed. "And I'm not your father- I raised a son, not a daughter. Leave." I began to cry as I cradled my cheek.

"Come on," Jean whispered. "We should give him some time to cool off." On our way out I saw my mother's face. She was still in shock- probably from what my father had been saying. As Jean helped me out the front door my mother came rushing to us.

"Marco," she began. "I- I'll talk to him. He's got no right to speak to you like that, no matter your... your..." she paused, gulping as her eyes darted betwen Jean and I, "sexuality."

I gave my mom a weak smile as I still stayed hidden under Jean's arm. "Thanks mom."

"I'll just keep him over at my place," Jean offered. "Until this thing cools down."

"Thank you so much, Jean," My mother said as she rushed forward to give us a hug. "He should be fine in the morning. He just needs some talking to. But I want you to know Marco, I still love you, no matter what. You're always going to be my little Marco, no matter what happens to you in this life."

"Thanks," I cried a little bit.

"And I give you both my blessing," my mother added. "My stubborn husband may not right now, but give him time. I'm sure he'll come around. And if he doesn't, he still won't be able to change the fact you two are a couple."

"Could you call when it's safe for Marco to return?" Jean asked. My mom nodded before rushing back in the house to sooth my father's anger. Jean walked me to the car and I couldn't contain my sobs any longer. I fished the keys of my car from my pocket and gave them to Jean before I jumped in the passenger seat. I sank down in the seat and tried to muffle my tears.

"Hey," Jean began as he crawled in the car. "Don't cry. It'll all be okay." Jean assured me it would be okay the entire ride to his place. The problem is, it wouldn't be okay. My father hates me. He hates me, not just his only son, but his only child. Not because of something I did to him... because I fell in love with Jean.

-Nat


	10. Chapter 9

_**Heeeeeyyyy! Ready for more? Well here you have it! Chapter 9, Whooooooo!**_

Jean's Point of _View_

A few weeks passed by us in the mere blink of an eye. Early April had come upon us, and along with it came my seventeenth birthday. Marco and I had only been dating for a short amount of time, but it proved that neither of us could keep our relationship secret for any longer. We were completely open to our friends about being a couple, and they all seemed very understanding and supportive of us being together. Of course, Jaeger couldn't let me off the hook without shouting "Ha, gaaay!" Home life wasn't perfect for Marco any more, but at least his father didn't kick him out. Things were still rough with him, but with Marco's mom there, the tension between the two didn't seem quite as bad as before.

I wandered the hall during my third hour class, dashing to my locker to find the textbook I left behind. Maybe it was just nerves of seeing Marco again in my next class, or trying to avoid being sang Happy Birthday to...again, I wasn't sure. I tossed open the door to locker number 79 and began to dig through the top shelf in search of the long-lost Algebra 2 book. I snatched up the book, and a wave of relief crashed over me. That was the second time this month already, and I doubt my teacher would let me out of class to find it again. I spun on my heel to start walking back to class when I came face to face with a familiar set of freckles.

"H-hey," Marco greeted me, his warm breath tickling my face. He smiled and chuckled under his breath, his nose brushing against mine. We were so close that whispers seemed like the loudest movements.

"Hey," I responded with a soft laugh, being extra cautious to keep quiet. There were other classes going on, after all. "What are you doing?" I asked him with a smirk that grew into a big grin.

"Can't a guy just wish his boyfriend a happy birthday without being questioned?" Marco asked me, raising an eyebrow as he smirked. He leaned in and held my chin, his lips pressing against mine softly. We stood in the hall alone for a moment, frozen in time. Marco pulled away slowing, his bottom lip sticking to mine. He pulled away once again, and I found myself longing for the taste of his lips again. "Happy birthday, Jean," he told me, spinning on his heel and sauntering back to his class, leaving me stunned like a deer in headlights in the hallway.

I wasn't learning anything in my history class any more, all I focused my attention on in that class- was Marco. The ring of the bell caught me off guard, and immediately students began to stand up and dash to the cafeteria. I lifted myself off of my seat and pulled my heavy school bag off the ground. As always, Marco was waiting for me by the door with a cute grin on his freckled face. My face grew warm with blush as I approached him, and we started our way down the hall. We took a quick stop my our lockers to drop our stuff off, and then we were on our way to lunch.

After Marco and I had grabbed our meals, we sat down at our regular table with all of our friends. Marco somehow had it in his head that since we were a couple, his friends had to be my friends. I got to know nearly every one of his friends, and they were actually all pretty cool. However, Eren and I weren't so okay with being friends. Because of that, I usually opted to choose the seat furthest away from him. "Hey guys!" Marco greeted with a smile as he sat down between me and Sasha.

"It's time," Sasha whispered under her breath and she bounced on the bench, shaking the entire table. She glanced over to Armin with wide eyes, and the timid blonde nodded his head. A smirk lined Armin's lips, and if he even agreed to be a part of it, it had to be something big. "One, two, three!" As Sasha counted down, my heart sunk, and I knew exactly what was coming next. Before it was even here, I buried my face in my hands, preparing for the embarassment.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you!" after the first few lines, our entire table jumped in, and even some of the people sitting around us had, too, "Happy birthday dear Jean! Happy birthday to you!" Armin ended the song with an attempt at harmony, and he held the last note a bit longer than necessary. I tried my best not to laugh at him, he sounded like a majestic eagle. Once he had realized his mistake, his entire face flushed red and he silenced himself with a soft apology.

"Happy birthday, gay boy," Eren remarked. I leaned over the table and shot a glare at him. Marco stuck his arm out and pushed me back, trying to keep me from repeating what happened previously. Eren held his hands up in defense, covering his mouth with one, trying not to laugh at me. He cleared his throat, attempting to calm himself down. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Happy birthday though, man," he said.

"Yeah, happy birthday!" Connie added with a toothy grin, "we really didn't get you anything, so, uh, sorry," he laughed. His eyes shot wide, a sudden realization coming to him. "That reminds me, I didn't get my tux for prom yet!" the bald male gasped.

"Don't get it just yet!" Sasha exclaimed, repeatedly smacking Connie on the arm. "We have to get matching dress and tuxedo, and you don't know which one I want!"

Marco laughed beside me, his freckled cheeks bouncing up and down as he did. He turned to me, shaking his head and causing a few strands of dark hair to fall in front of his eyes. My boyfriend turned back to the group, his brown eyes shining. "That reminds me, guys, who's taking who to prom this year?" he asked, "I think we all know that Sasha and Connie are going together," Marco stated, causing the group to laugh.

"Well, I think Mikasa and I are going stag. There's nobody I'm really interested in, and, well, let's face it, practically every guy is afraid that Mikasa would beat them up," Eren said with a chuckle, his adopted sister nodding along with the statement. Most girls I knew would be highly offended if someone said that to them, but Mikasa wasn't like most girls. "Most girls are probably afraid Mikasa would beat them up if they took a step near me, too." I nodded in agreement to that, Mikasa was practically Eren's second mother, who was also extremely over protective. It was weird.

"Well, uh, I was thinking that I was gonna ask that new girl to prom. You know, Annie? Annie Leonheart?" Armin stated, a few shades of pink tracing his pale cheeks. He glanced over his shoulder at a table behind us, at a short blonde girl who sat with Reiner Braun and Bertolt Hoover. Their massive stance only made the girl Armin spoke of appear even smaller. She was probably even shorter than Principal Levi. "I... I don't know," our coconut head blonde sighed, shaking his head, "do you guys think I even have a chance with her? I mean, she's so intense, and I'm just so... not intense."

"I say go for it, bud," Connie stated, patting Armin on the back, "you'll never know if you don't ask her!" he paused, his brught hazel eyes wandering over to Marco and I. A smirk grew on his lips, and he started to snicker. "I take it that you two are going together, isn't that right?"

I glanced over at Marco, and he did ther same to me, the both of us with wide eyes. Marco blushed, and he turned back to the group, taking a deep breath. "Uh, so who are you guys going to vote for prom royalty? I know they're still in the nomination stages, but who do you think you'd vote for?" he asked, completely changing the subject.

"Oh, totally Christa Lenz for queen. She just fits that title perfectly, and she's the heartthrob of so many guys at this school!" Sasha giggled, "Reiner and Christa are in my Chemistry class, and he is just so smitten with her! It's hilarious!"

"Yeah, Christa has some pretty high chances of winning the title of prom queen," Mikasa agreed, nodding her head. "As for king, I don't even know who's been nominated."

"I'd say that Marco fits the bill," Sasha piped up, her brown eyes wide. "I mean, he's a nice guy, he's got a good rep, he's handsome, he's got manners... I can see it happening," she said with a shrug, popping off the cap of her water bottle and taking a long drink.

"Oh man, no way, that's not happening," Marco stated, shaking his head quickly from side to side, "I'm not cut out for prom royalty..." he paused, biting down on his bottom lip. "Maybe I could, I don't know. We'll just wait and see," he stated with a shrug. A dreamy little smile grew on his lips as a plan formed in my mind. By the sparkle in his eyes, I could tell that maybe, just maybe, Marco wanted to be prom king. And I, as his boyfriend, was not one to disappoint.

Once I had concocted my plan for Marco to become king, the classes following lunch hour seemed to drone on forever. By the time seventh hour came along, I couldn't help but pay attention to Marco, rather than to what Ms. Hanji was teaching. I scribbled down my strategy for crowning my boyrfriend prom king, glancing up at him every so often. However, the next time I looked up, I didn't see Marco, instead I saw Ms. Hanji before me with her hands on her hips. "Jean," she stated my name aloud, "is this something you'd like to share with the class?" she asked, snatching my notebook out of my hands.

"Uh... I... uh..." I stuttered as she pushed her glasses further up onto the bride of her straight nose. I glanced over her shoulder to see Marco, sitting up on his chair in an attempt to see what I had written down on the paper. I gulped and looked back to Ms. Hanji, and I was surprised to see that there was a smile across her face. "Um, no, ma'am," I answered.

"Alright then, I suggest you refrain from working on this during my class, unless you want the class to know all about this," she replied with a nod and a smirk, shutting my notebook and plopping it down in front of me.

The next class period, which was my last, seemed to drone on ever longer than the previous ones combined. When the bell finally rang, I was the first out of my seat and out the door. I sprinted down the hall, rushing to find the student council desk, where they were taking nominees for prom royalty. I mowed over some Freshmen on my way there, but there was no way that I'd let them get in my way. I had to get this done before I saw Marco or any of his other friends. Once I had reached the student council desk, I planted both of my hands firmly on the desk, panting. I looked up to the Sophomore before me, who stared at me, wide-eyed and a bit scared. "C-Can I help you?" he asked.

"Yes," I breathed heavily, digging into my pocket for my wallet. I ram my thumb over the bills, searching for the one I desired. I pulled out a ten dollar bill, wagging it in front of the Sophomore boy's face. "You know Marco Bodt, right? Junior, with freckles and dark hair?"

"Yeah, I know Marco," the Sophomore nodded, "what does this have to do with nominating someone for prom royalty?"

"I'll give you ten dollars if you can make Marco one of the top three nominees," I told him. I typically wasn't one to pull something this risky, but I was just about willing to do anything for my Marco.

"Sir, I can't do that," he told me, shaking his head 'no'. Then, a smirk grew on his face, and he glanced back up at me, "unless you can somehow sweeten the deal."

"Ugh, fine," I grumbled, pulling out my wallet again. I groaned as I removed another ten dollar, offering up a total of twenty big ones to the underclassman. "Is this better?" I asked.

"That's more like it," the kid said with gleaming eyes, snatching the cash out of my hands, "pleasure doing business with you," the Sophomore said with a sly smile as he shook my hand. I gritted my teeth, maybe I should have threatened to beat him up instead.

"Hey, Jean!" I heard Connie shout from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw him with the rest of Marco and I's friends, coming my way. Hopefully, they'd arrived and there'd be no questions asked. "Hey, we were just wondering if maybe we could take you out tonight for some fun! You know, our treat. We could have dinner, dessert, you know, it's all up to you! What do you say?" he asked, his eyes and everybody else's filled with anticipation.

"Yeah, sure. It sounds great!" I told them with a smile.

-Oli


End file.
